Trust Fall

Regardless of our social or economic background, each of us usually holds some level of distrust (or doubt) towards those with whom we randomly cross paths. It's a deep-seated fear of being hurt and a common behavior of self-preservation. Since we do not know the strangers we may randomly encounter in the streets (the very base of the word "stranger" is a lack of familiarity), we try to guard ourselves. However, since this would lead to a very lonely existence, we make small, vulnerable, extensions into that sometimes uncomfortable zone of interaction so as to attempt to afford ourselves some level of company in life. There are even exercises known as "trust falls" where one falls backwards and is expected to trust that those around them will catch them and break their possibly catastrophic fall. Going out of our way to trust others and push that comfort is, in essence, an ideal, and one that leads to a more prolific society (prolific in that we cannot expand if do not share and that the power of many is greater than the power of one). Sometimes, however, opportunities may be too drastic and too rapid. Those instances should be dissected, examined and possibly forgone. What I am about to talk about is a a new concept that I feel should be avoided for the time being.

Aram Bartholl, a resident at EYEBEAM in New York City (link below), has been promoting one of their new projects where hard drives are embedded in structures around the city with USB attachments protruding (as in the image seen above (provided by EYEBEAM's website)). The project is entitled "dead drops", paying homage to the tendency of those in the espionage trade to simply leave an item in a previously disclosed location so that another may collect it without incriminating interaction, and there are currently five such locations scattered around New York City. Anyone is free to plug in to these public spaces and share the files. As there is no tag, many are, no doubt, enticed to attach themselves and find out what proves stored within. This, in itself, the free dissemination of information, is a concept with which I am completely in support. The flaw, however, is that it leaves itself, and anyone who connects to it, susceptible to unknowingly infecting their valuable computer with a virus left by a previous visitor. It's sad to say that such people do exist, and, much as they have used the internet for such reasons, there are definitely people who would love to take advantage of this new outlet for their destructive abilities. That is not something I think people should risk confronting. Nowadays, people's computers are somewhat of a lifeline, somewhere where limitless amounts of vital personal information are stored as well as a critical source of productive potential and a relaxing outlet for entertainment. Putting all of that at risk for the possibility of some discovery of the unknown will, most likely, tempt some. For the time being, however, I feel it would be best for the project to be shelved until safety precautions can be reworked into the system.

It seems that, though I said not every post would attempt to tackle some moral or ethical quandary, it seems today's post has wandered, once again, down that path. I feel that attempting to and pushing towards a most trusting and sharing society is a vital aspect of life, but this is one of those times when it is best to shelter oneself. Sadly, when proper precautions are not in place, the technology sector constantly proves that one bad apple can definitely spoil the bunch.


Links:
Eyebeam: Website